


Presents and problems are basically synonyms

by justAleks



Series: Old Bakugan fics written in Polish but finally translated [1]
Category: Bakugan Battle Brawlers
Genre: Christmas present hunt!, Gen, Slice of Life, Spectra has smooth brain when it comes to shopping for gifts, written back in the year of 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27369127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justAleks/pseuds/justAleks
Summary: Shadow had decided to force his companions to organize some christmas inspired gift-giving and no-one put their foot down to stop him. Mainly about Spectra and Gus, and of course gifts.I have a vague memory of posting this thing here at some point (in Polish only, so at least now you have a more competent translation) but me being a dumbass I  deleted it...
Relationships: Gus Grav & Spectra Phantom | Keith Fermin
Series: Old Bakugan fics written in Polish but finally translated [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1999174
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	Presents and problems are basically synonyms

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Prezenty i problemy to w sumie synonimy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27045139) by [justAleks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/justAleks/pseuds/justAleks). 



Spectra sighed at hearing the shattering of glass and changed the course of his steps from the lounge room to the kitchen. It gave him a shield in the form of the kitchen island between him and the rest of the Vexos. He resolutely turned a blind eye to the scene unraveling at the far corner of the room and walked up to the coffee machine. With one click the machine was brought to life and coaxed into spitting out the black liquid. With nothing to do, the pyramid of dirty mugs piled in the sink was hard to miss and Spectra wrinkled his nose in distaste, all the same, involuntarily appreciating the creativity. The pyramid was only missing one more mug as its peak. 

With a cheery beep, the coffee maker announced that the beverage was ready and capable of melting both one’s tongue and palate at the same time. Spectra added a generous amount of milk to it, trying to bring the temperature down to an acceptable range. With just a few gulps he half emptied the mug and finally felt ready to face the disaster area that became the corner of their lounge room. 

“Have you ever at least seen what this ‘christmas tree’ looks like?” He asked, bracing his hip on the counter and watching critically the few gleaming branches which were most probably supposed to imitate the tree. Shadow and Lync were surrounded by glass icicles, not all intact. Mylene snorted, reading, snuggled into the stuffed armchair, pushed far enough to avoid being roped into making the tree but close enough to comfortably watch the spectacle from above the tablet.

“It’s a kind of a prickly tree absolutely festooned with a plethora of glass balls,” reported Lync, trying to coerce one of the branches into standing position. Spectra’s brow traveled up to his hairline. 

“A prickly tree full of balls made of glass,” he repeated just to make sure, the sentence bounced from his lips in accidental rhythm. Spectra swallowed a mouthful of coffee in hopes that the caffeine will not only wake him up but will also help with understanding the train of thought here. 

“It’s a bit hard to find the same damn tree in space!” Barked Shadow, walking into the room armed with something shiny. Phantom wasn’t sure what it was exactly but was certain it belonged to one of the computers sitting out of commission (hopefully) and gathering dust in the control room. Curious, he watched as Prove dumped the armful of cables and wires next to the pitiful looking branches and started wrapping them around it. 

“I know you want the presents, but can't we skip the whole masquerade?” Spectra asked, probably for the hundredth time. The Darkus brawler looked at him as if Phantom just threatened to kill his beloved grandma. 

“It won’t be the same!” Prove’s voice jumped right into bat's register and the branches sloped even more to the left. Lync threw his hands up, either asking the higher force to spare them or giving up, after which, he turned and marched out of the room, passing in the door Gus. Grav was intensely staring into the tablet held in his hands and, without looking where he goes, walked towards the kitchen island. By some miracle, he didn’t step into any of the parts of almost-christmas-tree, that were steadily crawling further into the room. 

“Do you know that on Earth there is a practice of hiding presents in stockings?” asked the boy, stopping next to Spectra. Shadow ceased the wrapping of branches and stepped back to look at his creation. 

“And you think it’s a better idea?” He asked, voice dripping with skepticism. Gus loudly agreed. Spectra seconded him. Hotly and with his whole heart but invardly. Prove stared at the pile of trash, exaggeratedly known as the christmas tree, for a moment longer, then apparently made up his mind and yelled at Lync to find the biggest socks on the ship.

“WhatNowGoddamit!?” was heard, screamed out with the speed of light. 

“Go to him and don't pretend you are back in the stone age,” Spectra interjected at the sight of Shadow taking a deep breath in. Prove let the air out with a whistle, then stuck his tongue out at Spectra and started toward Lync's alleged presence. The silence that followed seemed almost unnatural. Phantom bravely refrained from checking to see if his ears were clogged.

“You’re not kidding about the socks, are you?” Spectra asked as he swallowed more of his coffee. Gus shook his head and, smiling broadly, showed him a picture of huge socks hung over the fireplace, filled with presents.

“No chance they'll find anything like these socks. Unless they use trousers or sleeves,” summed up Phantom.

“I just wanted them to stop playing electricians. It was just a matter of time for Shadow or Lync to short-circuit the ship,” Gus shrugged. He was right, so Spectra just nodded and busied himself with the last of his coffee. Grav finally noticed the modern art cluttering the sink and his face scrunched up hilariously at the sight, his hands twitched as if he was getting ready to start washing the mugs.

“And you’re going to sit all day in that chair?” Spectra directed his gaze towards Mylene, who was yet to move. 

“No, the moment our two morons come crashing back I’m planning on relocating to my room.” The girl didn’t even look up from her tablet. Phantom frowned but decided to ignore the ostentatious tone of the Aquos brawler. In his peripheral vision, he caught Gus swell with righteous anger. 

“Come, you’re gonna help me smuggle the presents for _our_ morons under the almost-christmas-tree.” Spectra stressed the term Mylene used for the duo. After a moment of thinking, he finished the pyramid, putting his empty mug on the top, and started towards his room. Gus wrinkled his nose but refrained from commenting, instead, he followed his leader. 

The whole ridiculousness has started after one of Mylene and Shadow’s mission on Earth. A short reconnaissance mission, aside from the info on the pesky Brawles, brought a boon in the form of overly excited Prove. Apparently, his attention had been captured and taken hostage by scattered all around bedecked evergreens. After some sifting through the database, it had been concluded that the trees were a part of a holiday custom followed by giving each other presents. That part of the new knowledge had been enough for Shadow to declare that the Vexos should be more open for different cultures, that they should be more open to Earth’s customs in particular, and thus they should try and celebrate that particular holiday to get to know their foe better. That was a purely tactical move, nothing more nothing less he had said. 

They couldn’t care less for earthlings but the perspective of presents had enough power behind it that even Mylene gave Prove her blessings. 

Now, they had Lync and Shadow prowling the ship and hunting anything that bore the slightest similarity to giant socks while the rest of the group was more or less enthusiastically preparing the presents. 

Volt was presumed dead or lost on a mission as noone had seen him since the notice of upcoming gifting was announced. It was highly probable that the giant of a man had decided to wait the whole thing out in the peace of his room. 

Spectra would love to barricade himself in his own quarters but Gus had dragged him into the belly of a huge mall on one of their stops at Gamma City, the boy had been on a mission for finding those blasted presents and it was clear he’d intended Spectra to accompany him. Without any plausible excuse not to, Spectra had to follow the boy. Thankfully, Gus had turned out to be a brilliant partner as he had kept on choosing two presents for every member without any prompting from Spectra. 

One thing that he could not have chosen, for obvious reasons, was the gift for himself. After just a few more or less subtle hints, Gus had vanished from Spectra’s line of sight and clearly had had no intention of resurfacing in the nearest future. 

* * *

Phantom spent almost ten minutes trying to find his minion and grumbling under his breath, while Gus ignored his calls until finally Spectra’s mind made the necessary calculations and coughed out the conclusion about Gus’ present, or rather lack thereof. The leader stopped in his tracks, seized by the gravity of the situation. Grav was known for being scaringly perceptive and having a killer memory and it played a tremendous role in gift hunting. He chose and matched the presents as if the activity was an olympic sport and he were a champion. Spectra could not say the same for himself. Coming up with strategies was a second nature but coming up with a good present was beyond him. 

The conviction that Gus was currently prowling the mall in search of a gift that will outshine everything else with its genius and practicality was adding to the existential dread crawling along his spine. It didn’t help that through the two hours of Spectra tagging along, more bored than interested, and watching Gus’ shopping spree, he didn’t see a single thing that could be at the very least considered as a gift for the Subterra brawler. To find something that screamed “made for Gus” seemed a far-fetched dream. 

It all lead to a simple conclusion: Gus will come up with something brilliantly perfect and seemingly tailor-made for Spectra and Spectra will counter it with something or another barely orbiting around Gus’ tastes. Phantom’s ego was threatening to break down and turn into miserable ash at the mere prospect of such a disgrace. Especially, because Spectra could already picture Grav’s smile, who would, under the guise of contentment which only highlighted the scrutiny with which the boy judged Spectra’s antisocial habits. 

A slight panic was starting to slowly set in, not that Spectra would admit it. The crowd rolling through the mall suddenly became a wave trying its best to swallow him and spit him out at the very outskirts of the universe. A tiny, hidden part of his psyche was willing to become the flotsam between the stars, rather than facing the utter shame of losing to Gus’ perfect gift-giving skills. 

“Mom! Look! It’s Spectra Phantom!” His mental breakdown was brutally interrupted by the enthusiastic shout coming from some boy. The child hanged from his mother’s arm and bodily turned her towards him. It was enough to snap Spectra out of his little crisis. He straightened his back, pushed his chest out and nodded at the excited child and his tired mother. His steps became purposeful, as if he knew exactly where he was going. He was the leader of the Vexos! He was able to gain and hold the title of the best Pyrus brawler among the vestals! Without batting an eye he lied to Zenoheld about his unending loyalty! A mere present was going to beat him? That will be the day!

Every few steps he could hear hushed whispers coming from kids, who not used to being subtle tried to sneakily point him out and murmur between themselves visibly excited. Some of the braver ones decided to follow him for a moment. Up until then, this type of behaviour usually amused Phantom. The blind adoration that shone in his fans’ eyes stroked his ego just right but right now it was just making his nerves tense. It felt like the people around him knew about his doomed mission. Spectra fought with the need to bare his teeth and snarl at anyone who as much as looked his way. 

Helios, who jumped out from the pocket of his coat almost gave him a heart attack. “What got you into such a twist?” Tha Bakugan flapped his wings as if to stretch them. Spectra just cleared his throat, not wanting to disclose any details in the middle of the crowd. The dragon opted to try and drill a hole in his jaw with the intensity of his stare. 

To their left, Spectra noticed a shop with all types and sizes of kitchen accessories and promptly started towards it. Helios kept a steady yet piercing gaze all the while Spectra rummaged through the displayed gadgets. The leader stared at an eyesore of even mitts for almost a minute, feeling more stupid than he could remember in his whole Vexos career.

"What should I buy, Gus?" At last he admitted defeat. Helios started, and looked around.

"As a present?" Spectra frowned at the stupid question and took a hold of a set of knives.

"No, as a declaration of war," he snarled checking the price.

“With you — Vestals — everything is possible,” shot back Helios. “Can’t you give him money so he can buy something himself?”

Spectra snorted derisively at such a crude idea. Helios moved his wings in an interpretation of a shrug.

“What do you want me to do? You could have asked him, would have saved the trouble.” Spectra’s brow twitched. That hadn’t crossed his mind. Seeing that the young shop assistant started orbiting towards him, Spectra put the knives down and elegantly legged it.

“You didn’t even think about it, did you?” Guessed Helios but didn’t comment on Phantom’s escape. The blonde wasn’t sure if continuing the original conversation was what he wanted. 

“The whole premise of this present gifting is that it’s a _surprise_ ,” groused Spectra, trying to salvage his hurt pride. Helios knew that and, if only able to, he would have shown a mocking smile full of razor-sharp teeth. As a ball small enough to guarantee a “choking hazard” warning were he a toy, Helios opted for a short laugh. 

“Let him win a fight then.” Spectra slowed down surprised by the generosity of his partner. “Not against me, though.” Helios added, not letting Spectra get touched too much. 

“Your generosity is astounding,” he deadpanned, picking up his speed. All around him the holographic ads were holding forth on the quality or uniqueness of their products to the point the barrage of information was blurring into one long stream of praise. _The-best-fruits-perfect-for-oiling-every-phone-need-top-up-only-here-you-will-get-100%-discount._ Spectra could feel his head spinning. Passing by shop after shop with nothing to catch his eye, nothing even remotely Gus-like, Phantom’s hope was slowly shrinking in itself. The Gamma Mall, despite the plethora of shops and booths and whatnot seemed pitifully lacking in goods fit to become presents. 

“On your right is a shop or something,” informed him helpfully Helios, realizing that Spectra was ready to prowl the whole building until he dropped dead. With little thought, Spectra turned and faced the shop. Although, it barely qualified as one. The shop was a little thing squashed from both sides by two huge chain stores. Through the glass walls Spectra could see rows of trinkets older than Spectra’s ancient granny, may her iron will and legendary health reign supreme and grant her the chance to witness the overpopulation of this world too. 

A smile crept on Spectra’s face, Gus, after all the research on Earth, developed a liking to ancient dusty stuff. All and any peculiarities, especially those hard to find and touched by time became his new obsession. 

At least, that was what Spectra could recall and he dearly hoped the information was correct. The shriveled hope to find a gift jerked its head up and wagged its tail happily as he stepped inside. 

“Hello, how can I help?” Spectra gritted his teeth. He hoped to silently roam the shop and maybe find a thing or two interesting. Thanks to the compact size and minimal (nonexistent) shop traffic, however, the shopkeeper not only noticed him without any problems, but clearly could afford to assist the future customer. 

“Just looking for a gift for a friend.” Phantom was a born actor and immediately smoothed his face into a mask of gentle interest with a touch of courtesy. He scanned the shelves as high as the ceiling and thanked himself for the mask that concealed his saucer-wide eyes. The shop was drowning in various trinkets (far more than he expected) which should only be found in museums or those little and forgotten pawn shops hidden in the shadows of huge buildings back home and even that only if you were lucky. 

Most probably porcelain dragons were staring at Spectra with fixed eyes, real swords were proudly picking up dust, and here and there, Phantom could make out the spines of old books. The leader of The Vexos stared in disbelief at the treasures of the past long gone, neatly arranged around him. 

“I see the friend must have a great taste!” Beamed the shopkeeper, sauntering from behind the counter and stopping with panache next to Spectra, mere millimeters away from his personal space. The cheekily curled mustache fluttered as the shopkeeper smiled. Even up close it was difficult to judge his age, he might as well be twenty or fifty. The positive energy he was oozing and sparkling eyes did not help with estimating it.

“Has anything caught your eye, already?” Spectra was hard to overwhelm on principle. _He_ was the one doing it most often, but faced with the unbridled enthusiasm of the shopkeeper, it was hard not to feel at least a smidge of intimidation. He cleared his throat, instinctively puffed out his chest, and turned out speechless. Helios did not even attempt to hide his cackle, Spectra immediately grabbed the Bakugan and unceremoniously shoved him into his pocket, unmindful of the threats made under his name. The shopkeeper watched the whole incident without a word. His curious eyes rested on the pocket from where you could still hear a faint muttering, but after a beat, he focused back on Phantom.

“Ah, yes, yes. The assortment here needs a moment to be taken in. Please feel free to do so! Walk around, see if something catches your eye.” The shopkeeper spread his arms, showing the entire store. Spectra sighed discreetly and walked over to the nearest shelves. The shopkeeper was hovering nearby, rearranging various knick-knacks, as if he was also looking for something. As it turned out, he was doing just that. As Phantom examined a box bedazzled with various shining stones and full of intricate ornaments swirling around them, the man appeared next to him, practically blinding the blonde with his self-satisfaction. 

“What do you think about that?” In his hand, the man was holding a small oval thing. Black with brown reflections, which under the light took an almost honey shade, and surrounded by a metal lace. 

“About ‘that’,” Spectra repeated flatly, looking at the trinket, the shopkeeper had solemnly handed over to him. Upon closer inspection, Phantom discovered a safety pin on the back of the item. 

“An old brooch, perfect for holding up capes. Despite its inconspicuous appearance, it is really durable,” the man explained, watching Spectra’s reaction closely. 

‘A brooch,’ the image of Gus in his usual cloak appeared before Spectra mind’s eye. The brooch was not essential to his happiness, but seemed like a perfect accessory. Helios popped out of his pocket and made a guttural purr, or at least tried. His current form lacked the deep reverberation of the true one. Spectra’s fingers tightened on the item and the shopkeeper offered him a smile full of shining teeth. 

The gift has been found.

“Can you pack it up nicely?”

“Your wish is my command!” The man bowed theatrically, grabbed the brooch and returned to the counter. To Spectra’s surprise, he dived under it, where he spent a good minute or two rustling with papers and folded boxes. When he finally emerged, the shopkeeper had a black box lined with red thin paper in one hand and cream colored paper in the other, a red ribbon was slung over his neck.

“That’s a bit too much, don’t you think?” Phantom pointed at the items. The man flashed a wide toothy smile. 

“Nonsense! Such a beautiful gift must look good bth alone and in the box!” He solemnly placed the brooch on the red paper, closed the box and looked at the cream paper for a moment before he prepared a fancy blank tag out of it. The ribbon was then neatly tied around the box and the tag got weaved into it. Phantom marveled at the speed with which the man prepared the gift. 

Only when the shopkeeper checked whether the knot would last without untying itself at the wrong moment did it reach Spectra’s mind that he didn’t even know how much he would pay for the gift. 

“Here!” The man allowed his client to examine the box carefully. The profoundly standing bow gave the gift a royal air. Spectra internally gave himself a pat on the shoulder for finding such a wonderful present. Even the packaging itself was amazing. The shopkeeper’s voice brought him down faster than a shot down ship would have done. 

“700 corones” This time, the shopkeeper’s smile was all teeth — predatory and dangerous. Instinctively, Spectra grabbed the pocket hiding his wallet and the man followed the movement with keen eyes. The leader cleared his throat. 

“I think, I misheard you,” in turn, Spectra’s voice was like the finest chocolate — deep and sweet, making the listener drown in it. Unfortunately for him, the shopkeeper appeared to be a man with no taste for sweets, even the best ones. The man didn't even blink, just stared expectantly at the Vexos’ leader. Spectra kept the eye contact.

The blonde had the option of turning and walking out of the shop, just like that. Turning away and exiting the place, his cloak flapping ominously. But that would end up in forfeiting the gift. The brooch, now safely hidden in the box, tempted with its uniqueness. To make matters worse, Phantom’s ego jerked its head up and bristled no worse than a porcupine at the possibility of losing to Gus. The present was one thing, but Spectra had a _reputation_ to maintain. 

With a sweet smile, the leader of the Vexos pulled out his card and held it close to the reader, the shopkeeper’s eyes were sparkling like diamonds while Phantom’s fingers typed in the pin number. 

Beep.

Transaction completed. 

The man clapped his hands, put the gift gently into a bag and grinned so widely, that he had to squint his eyes. The ratfink knew from the very beginning how it would end. 

“Thank you for your purchase and have a nice day.” Spectra smiled tightly and nodded his head. He felt physically lighter of those 700 corones. 

Leaving the store felt like leaving an enchanted land. The mall greeted him again with a bustle and a wave of people trying to swallow him and spit him out in a place far different from where he was heading. This time, the young man began to actively resist the current of bodies.

Spectra stood still for a moment, the bag with the gift in his hand, and stared blankly at the overflowing crowd. He had to find Gus. He revealed the gauntlet strapped to his forearm and quickly typed a message for Grav to head toward one of the five shopping mall exits, two floors down and next to a surprisingly nice-looking cafe filled with flowers in proportion to the smothering crowd.

This time, Gus acknowledged the message, and the Phantom began to bravely wade through the busy mass that kept trying to throw him off course. Even though he walked with the proud steps of Vestalia's best fighter, his swift retreat was like escaping from a battlefield. The money spent, like points lost in a duel, stung his pride and flat out made fun of the Vexos leader.

Better to get out of the sly trader's territory as soon as possible. Helios chuckled softly in his pocket.

* * *

The mere memory of the peculiar shopkeeper made Spectra forcibly stop himself from taking his wallet out and pressing it to his chest in a too late act of protecting his money. Instead, he clenched his fists. The feeling of a job well done battled with the feeling that he had been perfidiously manipulated.

In his room he walked over to the closet and fished out a bag filled with presents. For some unexplainable reason he felt a jovial "ho-ho-ho!" trying to slip past his lips. He clamped his teeth together. 

Gus walked over to his desk without any prompting and, out of nowhere, pulled out five small paper rectangles on which he began to write the names of the Vexos members. Spectra, not quite remembering which box contained a gift for which member of the group, only handed out colorful gifts to Gus. The young man, having a good understanding of the contents of the gifts, slipped the signed cards under the ribbons or stuck them with double-sided tape.

He was quite relaxed at Spectra’s desk, and at the sight of a black box, which he most certainly had not bought and which had not been handed to him for labeling, Gus started humming some pop song that had recently taken over all radio stations. Spectra felt appreciated, even though Gus had yet to see his gift.

“If the master wants, I can put the master's gifts along with mine,” he said, tucking the last piece of paper under the ribbon of the angry pink box. This time, Spectra had no doubts to whom the gift was addressed — it was specially selected for Shadow. Not only was the color a nightmare for the eyes but the gift itself was more a joke than anything else, at least according to Phantom. A full set for artificial nails. Shadow always complained that he had to be careful not to break his claws, so now he could replace a broken nail with a new one at any moment. 

A crooked smile crept on the blonde’s face. He was pretty sure Prove had bought him something to care for his hair, so he wasn't going to be any worse.

Gus had been surprised when Spectra had pulled him into a beauty store and ordered him to find something for nails. The words "Shadow", however, were enough to make Grav do his absolute best and soon he had found the set.

“First you will have to see if Shadow and Lync finally set up the almost-christmas-tree, maybe they gave up on it and found socks," Spectra remarked, writing Gus' name on the tag attached to the ribbon. 

He didn't even have to look up at Grav, the boy just hummed his acknowledgement and left the room. Spectra sat on the bed for a while, staring at the door. Now, left alone with an army of gifts, he finally fully understood that today, probably for the first time since the group was founded, they will have some kind of team-building activity.

Even though the Vexos had been working together for about two years, they rarely acted like a team, more often than they stuck to their partners and only contacted other members when it was absolutely necessary. 

Even when they were on the ship, they all somehow kept their distance. Spectra's lips twitched at the thought of spending extra time with the rest of the group.

To fill the time waiting for Gus, Phantom took off his mask and went into the bathroom. He looked critically at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was still up, but on closer inspection, Spectra found reddish roots. He winced at the thought of another bleaching session. The thought that he would be bald before he hits his thirties flashed through Phantom’s mind, but he quickly chased it away. He had no intention of worrying about the increasingly heavy hair loss. Not yet.

A knock on the door alerted Spectra to Gus entering.

“At last, they welded one of the twigs to some sheet of metal and put it in a corner, master.” Gus's lips were stretched in a broad smile, Spectra snorted still standing in front of the mirror.

“Couldn’t they do it in the first place? They would have saved a lot of time.” Gus shrugged and headed for the presents. Avoiding any more eye contact with the Phantom, the boy grabbed the bag, twisted its upper part around his wrist, and fled the room as quickly as possible. With a short “Off I go, master” thrown over his shoulder. It was as if he was afraid that Spectra would put his foot down at the very last minute and cancel this whole farce. Which, to be honest, would not be unusual at all.

Spectra narrowed his eyes at the closed door again. Even if he wanted to say something, Gus ran away so quickly as if Zenoheld himself was chasing him.

Was Grav looking forward to the gift-giving as well?

* * *

Awkwardness. Pathologically awkward awkwardness. That was all that came to Spectra’s mind as everyone gathered around the almost-christmas-tree. The poor stick was barely visible from behind more or less fancy boxes, and the Vexos stood around it like a pack of predators who managed to chase their prey into a corner and now were just debating how to take it down.

“Shadow, as this whole farce is your idea: do the honors,” Spectra gestured at the almost-christmas-tree and stared at the Darkus player. Prove's face lit up like a lamp, as if his wish had come true. He even saluted, with his left hand and with a deranged smile, but saluted nonetheless before skipping to the ridiculous pile.

“Ladies and gentlemen! We are gathered here today to feel the spirit of the Earth, to learn our enemies’ customs and come closer to defeating them with that knowledge! To ascend the next level of evolution. After many hardships flavoured with sweat and tears...!” Spectra felt quite lost for a moment, and everyone else stared at Shadow standing before their eyes, gesticulating theatrically and getting more and more worked up.

“Shadow!” Phantom wished he had never accepted this madman into the group. Prove frowned, unhappy that he had been interrupted during such a glamorous speech, but quickly swallowed the tirade pressing at his teeth, feeling that this time he should not irritate his leader. He muttered that they were missing out but quickly composed himself. 

“Okay!” However, he did not fail to sound indignant. He sat down by the pile of presents and stared at it for a moment, wondering where to start. His finger hovered over it as if he was trying to use a counting-rhyme to choose one. Spectra felt his blood pressure rising.

“Shadow, damn it!” This time it was Lync who exploded to rush Prove. An angry murmur from different members followed the outburst. Everyone wanted to be done with all this gift-giving as soon as possible and hide in their rooms so that they could sort the presents into the useful ones and those that were bought with a "piss off" attitude.

“Shut up and wait for your turn like a good boy!” Prove barked as he reached blindly for one of the boxes. His hand missed the black one with the red ribbon by millimeters, and instead stopped at the green one with white dots. Spectra was pretty sure the gift was from Lync.

“Ice Lady! Here, darling, the first gift is for you!” Looking at how gleefully he egged Mylene on, Shadow must have been a masochist. Despite the fact that the woman was aloof, she was also characterized by exceptional ferociousness. Shadow had a great chance of ending "accidentally" in the middle of a misfire experiment if he continued to play his games. Again.

Mylene looked indifferent as she reached for the box and, ignorant to the inquisitive glances, put it down on a nearby table. So much for watching who got what.

Shadow has made it a point of honor to use all the diminutives he could think about to address his team. When he called Spectra a "sunshine," Lync made a sound like he choked on his own laugh. His face quickly fell when he was called a "piglet". This time it was Spectra who smirked. Lync’s cheeks reddened, adding truth to the pet name and making Shadow cackle. 

Gus' eyes flickered like stars when Shadow handed him a gift from Phantom, even the softly cooed "sweet pea" did not dim the light he almost started to emanate. Spectra’s ego puffed up proudly.

The leader was further called "sunshine", "muffin" and "hottie". Shadow didn't get his teeth rearranged only because he was clearly trying to get a reaction out of Spectra. Phantom promised himself, however, to assign him to the most hopeless task he could find, but while Shadow was giving out gifts, he merely smiled at the albino as he picked up the last package. Shadow fell silent in shock at the reaction, and Spectra struggled to suppress a cackle. Lync lost his temper on the second nickname. "Snuggle baby" had clearly hit a nerve and Volan threw the first gift at Shadow’s head. Prove dodged and the box smashed into the wall with a glass sounding crack. Lync immediately regretted his action and until the very end of this farce merely glared daggers at Shadow, to the undendig amusement of the latter.

* * *

Spectra, with a only a slightly annoyed sigh, laid all the packages on the bed. Helios, who had been tucked in his pocket so far, jumped out and crouched on the desk. The entire gift-giving took maybe half an hour. Shadow was constantly trying to upset the Vexos with hopeless pet names, or by asking if they were nice or naughty. By the end, even Volt looked like he was channeling all his energy not to punch Prove into the next week.

He looked at five parcels of different sizes. The polka dot-wrapped gift was certainly Lync's. The poorly masked terror that appeared on the boy's face when Shadow handed the package to Spectra was enough of a clue. The irregularly shaped package wrapped in a psychedelic paper and then additionally wrapped in generous amounts of clear tape had to be from Shadow. Phantom could even recognize the shape of a hairspray can. He hoped it was at the very least of good quality.

The last three packages were posing a problem, however. Mylene and Volt had to ask the shop assistant to pack the presents. Gus has done just that, asked the sellers in every store for a nice package for the gifts. The problem now was figuring out who gave him which remaining gift. Naturally, while he was looking for a present for Gus alone, Grav was doing exactly the same for Spectra. The leader hoped it took more than five minutes for the Subtera player.

One gift was wrapped in white paper and wrapped with a gray ribbon, the other in blood red paper adorned on top with a yellow bow, and the last was in mint-colored paper with a delicate pattern that sparkled no worse than fresh snow.

To buy himself some time, Spectra first took the gift from Shadow. Duct tape fought back as much as the Resistance itself, and Spectra eventually had to use scissors to somehow tear the paper and adhesive tape apart. As expected, Shadow bought him a can of hairspray. The sticker on the packaging promised a long-lasting effect, and the formula of the spray was supposed to not stick the hair together. Spectra wrinkled his nose at the company that made the spray. Velvety Spa, was, unfortunately, one of the worst crap on the market. Phantom tossed the gift into the bin. From the depths of the wrapping paper, he managed to dig out a singing birthday card with the word "birthday" crossed out, which, when opened, presented a holographic cat dancing happily, but not necessarily to the rhythm of the music being played. After a brief reflection, the card was stuffed on a shelf between his clothes. Helios started to snicker under his breath.

Lync's gift turned out to be more useful: a mug with ‘best boss’ written on it. Spectra narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the thing. He didn't believe Lync would buy him a mug like this if there wasn't a catch in it. Volan was not so subtle as to choose such a cup out of sheer irony. Spectra examined the cup on each side, but found nothing. Inspired, he stepped into the bathroom and poured some hot water into it. Nothing visibly happened. Spectra felt a touch of disappointment. 

When he turned the cup upside down so that it could drip itself dry, he saw a caption that wasn't here before. ‘I’m a motherfucker’ curled itself on the mug’s bottom. Well, that part was true enough so much so that Phantom decided to put the mug to use later. He also made a mental note that next time Lync was assigned to control the progress of the Laboratory, the boy had always complained that the sterility of those rooms made shivers race down his back. Helios, seeing Spectra's lopsided smile when he emerged from the bathroom, began to ask what was wrong with this gift, but Phantom ignored him. The dragon began to consider taking offense, but curiosity took over and he sat on Spectra's shoulder so as not to miss anything more.

Now he had three mysterious packages left. He took a closer look at each one. All of them had cards with his name on them, of course. Two were printed, one was handwritten. _Bingo_. Spectra picked up the red package and examined the note carefully. At first, he did not recognize the handwriting, someone clearly made an effort to conceal his identity. He ruled out Mylene immediately. The girl would not have tried so hard, which meanthers was the white or mint gift. So either Volt or Gus remained as the probable owner.

Spectra would love to be able to say that he can easily recognize Gus' handwriting, even altered, but lying to himself was beneath his dignity. He weighed the flat package in his hands, shook it gently, and even looked it up to the light. All it did was to discover the package was suspiciously light. He picked up the two remaining presents and repeated the examination. It turned out that the mint package contained something small, square and probably filled with liquid, plus something more irregular. Spectra looked at the sparkling paper one more time and decided to assign the gift to Mylene. Really, all he could do was be a big boy and make a decision.

He picked up the present and tore the paper hiding it, this time it only took a few seconds to unpack it, and as it turned out, he got a bottle of aftershave packed along with a razor in matching colors. This ruled out Gus as he had considerably more imagination with gifts. The company wasn’t the best but the aftershave still had a nice smell. The shaver also had a good chance of fulfilling its role. Spectra could not grow anything more than a peach fuzz even if his life depended on it. 

Well, he had two gifts left. Gus’ and Volt’s. Spectra wanted to toss a coin and see if he was still lucky, but on the other hand, he didn't want to break his winning streak.

He could almost feel the gravity of the situation sit heavily on his shoulders, wrapping it’s appendages around his shoulders and weighing them down. Slowly, as if he was starting to detonate a bomb, he reached towards the white gift. Looking at the simplified colors, it should come from Volt. A simple gift from a simple man, right?

“Master-!” Gus burst into the room like a hurricane, looked around the room frantically, and, at the sight of Spectra's hand hovering over the gift, with a loud 'no' threw himself towards the bed. Spectra grabbed the box and before Grav could snatch it away, years of hand-to-hand combat finally clicked in. Phantom grabbed Gus' hands in his, yanked him to the side, and using the boy's momentum, allowed himself to be dragged to the floor with him. He swung one leg over Grav's back and simply sat on him. The boy started jerking like a wild horse during a rodeo, but Spectra, trying not to be thrown off, gripped the present.

“Master, please don't!” Gus tried to reach for the gift again, but Phantom shoved his hands away and quickly tore the paper open. The box it was wrapped around dropped to the floor and two bottles fell out. Gus froze.

“What is this?” Spectra rolled off his partner and picked up one of the bottles. 

_Turquise - strengthening shampoo for colored hair. Forget about hair loss after the first use!_

The second bottle turned out to be a conditioner from the same company. Spectra felt his blood start to boil. Before he decided to tear Gus's intestines out through his nose, he reached for his tablet and quickly checked the quality of these products. Grav let out a pathetic groan and remained on the floor with his face hidden in the carpet.

“At least they're of the highest quality,” Spectra said dryly, and Gus groaned again.

“Master... I just didn't want you to feel bad, I mean, after buying me a present…” Grav realized he was digging his own grave and fell silent. Spectra felt a white-hot rage burning from within his very core at this glaring lack of faith in his ability to deal with difficult situations.

“And how did you like the brooch?” He asked in a deadly sweet voice. Helios was rolling on the desk, cackling from wild delight.

“It’s gorgeous,” Gus was clearly trying to become one with the floor. Spectra took a deep cleansing breath, tried to remember why Gus was such a good companion, then put the hair products down next to Grav's head and turned towards his bed.

Only one gift left. From _Volt_. A flat, suspiciously soft package. The paper was easy to tear and, as it turned out, it contained a black T-shirt folded on a cardboard. The material was very pleasant to the touch, he noted absentmindedly. The shirt’s cut didn't stand out: short sleeves, a bit too loose, V-neck, trimmed with golden threads. Almost an ordinary T-shirt. If it weren't for its caption.

“Set me up on fire.”

There was no way Volt would come up with such a present on his own. Spectra was so sure he would have his left arm chopped off, since Luster had neither the sense of humor nor the guts to do something like that. He looked at the paper that was wrapped around the mug just minutes ago.

 _Lync_.

The kid had to either lose his self preservation instincts or go crazy under the pressure of shop ads and persuade his partner to buy cheeky gifts. Personally, Spectra appreciated the gesture, and bothe the mug and T-shirt brought a smile to his face, but of course he would never admit it. Lync's exile to the laboratories was enriched with oversight of Clay. Let the kid suffer the presence of a half-maddened scientist from the stress. Volt would be assigned to another group of eggheads, lest they accidentally tried to support each other in their misery.

“Very nice tee, Master,” Gus finally peeled his face from the carpet. Spectra crushed him with a glare. “It will contrast nicely with master's hair,” added Grav. Spectra felt a new wave of anger, without the slightest hint of embarrassment, not even of a smidge, flood him. Gus realized that a mistake had been made and jumped up quickly from the floor.

“Er, I'll go, then,” Gus paused at the door. “I really like this brooch, thank you, Master.” He grinned broadly and left, quietly closing the door behind him. At least Spectra could give himself a pat on the back because Gus’s smile was as genuine as it could get. 

“And you were worried,” laughed Helios, balancing on the edge of the desk.

“Shut your maw.” Helios snorted and folded into a ball continuing his croaking laughter.

Spectra, a bit offended, combed his stiff hair, an alarming amount stayed between his fingers. He looked at the bottles from Gus. _Huh_. Maybe he shouldn't be so irritated after all. Lurking in the fringes of his mind, the plans to take revenge for his earlier humiliation faded away like smoke.


End file.
